Film Review: NINE DAYS (2020): Winston Duke’s Fantastic Performance Fuels Profound Dramatic Film

Nine Days Review

Nine Days (2020) Film Review, a movie directed by Edson Oda, and starring Winston Duke, Zazie Beetz, Benedict Wong, Tony Hale, Jeffrey Hanson, Bill Skarsgard, David Rysdahl, Arianna Ortiz, Perry Smith, Geraldine Hughes, Amy Brown, Sterlin English, David H. Stevens and Erika Vasquez.

Edson Oda’s deeply moving film, Nine Days, showcases the remarkable talent of Winston Duke. In the picture, Duke plays the character of Will, a man with a lot of power, and he does an outstanding job conveying what his character is going through (and not going through) emotionally during the course of the film as he has a choice to make that is one of the most challenging decisions a person could ever be forced to make. Will, who has the chance to offer the gift of life to one of several different candidates in the movie, is a “lost soul” but he’s good at what he does. For the most part.

In a small house in the middle of nowhere, Will works with his assistant Kyo (Benedict Wong). They are watching lives of other people on TV’s. These lives were granted to the people living them by Will. Kyo gives his opinion on particular candidates but his input can only go so far to influence Will. It is clear that Will is the ultimate decision maker. Will granted life to a woman named Amanda who was a great violinist before she died a premature death. Will thought Amanda would go all the way in life, so to speak, but she didn’t make it. Now, Will is in the process of interviewing some unborn souls who would like a chance at life. The process of selecting a soul for life takes nine days but could take less if a candidate is deemed unfit for the gift of life.

There are several candidates that seem like they may not make it through the nine days process. Alexander is one of them. Tony Hale gives a solid performance here as a nice soul who doesn’t seem to have the fierce determination that is necessary to be granted life. Hale’s character would rather take a lot of breaks than go through answering Will’s rigorous interview questions. After all, Will’s questions are “heavy.” For example, Will asks the candidates if they were given the opportunity to save a life with a gun pointed directly at them, would they try?

Zazie Beetz portrays Emma. If Duke is the soul of this film, Beetz is definitely the heart of it. Emma challenges Will and questions his decision-making process. She takes a different view on life than Will seems to have. Emma is good natured, kind and helps Will and Kyo prepare the “last moments” of souls who are rejected for the gift of life. Each soul is allowed one precious moment to act out before they will be no more. Emma also gets Will to talk about one positive moment he had in his own life as Will had actually lived a life himself before he resigned to doing what he is currently doing. Duke and Beetz are a beautifully conducted opus together and their scenes are absolute dynamite in terms of the depth they bring to their performances.

Another noteworthy turn is by Bill Skargard as Kane, one of the souls with a real chance at receiving the gift of life. Kane talks about what disgusts him in one scene and even though he possibly goes “too far” in what he describes, Kane’s decision to discuss what he talks about makes sense as opposed to the silly story Kyo tells. Skarsgard more than holds his own in this fine cast of characters.

Nine Days is a triumph. It is deeply affecting in many scenes. Duke is so perfect in his role that when the film’s powerful conclusion arrives and we see a whole new side to his character, the transformation Will has gone through has truly been witnessed on screen. It’s a movie miracle to see such a finely tuned, great performance.

Beetz is the movie’s backbone. Her character is the essence of what is good in life and she has every reason to be born. Beetz captures her every nuance to a tee.

Nine Days is the very best film to come out so far this year. It’s a master class on acting and filmmaking. Edson Oda has directed what may become a masterpiece in time. In my opinion, it is already one and the movie took me to places I’ve never been before from an emotional standpoint. This is truly a must-see.

Rating: 10/10

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